4 Things Every Speaker Can Do To Increase Their Leverage

"Speaking has now become the top of your sales funnel – a complete 180 from where it used to be." In a fast-changing online world, nothing is guaranteed and nothing is sacred. Knowledge-based workers—such as public speakers—need diverse income sources if they want any kind of long-term stability. Even those who currently make handsome appearance fees have begun wondering how to leverage their content for long-term gains. After all, what if public speaking stops being an option at some point? You want to know that you can still make a living, even if you face some kind of personal setback.

Creating A Long-Term Earning Strategy

Have you ever had the cold, anxiety-inducing realization that “If I lost my voice tomorrow, I’d be out of a job”? Yes? Then you need a long-term earning strategy. We’re going to break down the ways in which you can increase your value to both speaking agents and your community to shore up your financial future. The first thing you want to do is take stock of what you bring to each speaking engagement. Sure, you have great content and lots of inspiring ideas. But are you just a talking head, or are you providing additional coaching, course opportunities, and follow-up engagement? When a corporate speaking agent considers who to hire, he wants to know the ROI. You should be able to rattle off the ways in which you’re going to help the company move forward because they won’t pay top dollar for a one-off session anymore. Do yourself a favor and bring this up before the agent does. Show him that you care about the investment cost and are willing to be a leader for the audience. This goes a long way toward establishing a mutually profitable relationship. When it comes time to book an event again, you’ll be the first person who comes to mind. Once you’ve firmed up your client base for public appearances, turn your attention back to that disaster scenario of losing your ability to speak. What kind of additional revenue do you have in place to float you through a crisis? Even if your voice remains clear as a bell for the next five decades, it’s still a good idea to have multiple income streams. Who knows what the speaking landscape will look like a few years down the road and whether those lucrative contracts will dry up? Online content and automation could drive speaking fees down significantly, and you don’t want to be caught unprepared if that happens. Fortunately, if you’ve been speaking for awhile, you already have a tribe of people you can sell to – if you’re willing to leverage your influence. "Online content and automation could drive speaking fees down significantly, and you don’t want to be caught unprepared if that happens." You’d be amazed at how many prominent speakers have been at it for 10 years and have presented in front of 10,000+ people, but have only interacted with about 20 percent of them. It pains us to think of all those missed opportunities. When you’re working with a rapt audience, that’s the best time to cultivate a relationship. They trust you, they’re interested in your ideas, and they probably want more of your content. Don’t squander their attention; capture their emails and mobile numbers and invite them to engage with you even after the appearance.

Started From the Bottom (of the Funnel), Now We’re Here

Speaking has now become the top of your sales funnel – a complete 180 from where it used to be. You want to use your speaking events to build your tribe, rather than the old model of building a community to establish authority to get speaking gigs. Let’s look at how to draw people further into that funnel after your initial presentation.

1. Collectcontactinformation.

This is an absolute must. You can ask for people’s email addresses and phone numbers when they register for an event, create a landing page they can visit after the talk, have them text-to-join, or offer a free download for everyone who signs up. However you choose to do it, don’t miss the chance to get this crucial data.

2. Automatefollow-up.

If you have a busy speaking schedule and move quickly to different events, you don’t have time to create an email campaign after each one. Schedule an automated message to go out to attendees in the days following each appearance. This keeps you on their radars, and it stokes the fires of the excitement they felt when they first heard you speak. Remember, you’re building long-term relationships around your brand, so you need to be in contact regularly.

3. Scaleyourcontent.

Look for ways to spin your talks into online courses, books, and other products. The goal is to generate sustainable, comfortable income, right? Turning your knowledge into products you can sell again and again is the best way to do that. Once people experience your value firsthand, they’ll be more than willing to buy from you when you release new content in the future.

4. Bridgetheonline-offlinegap.

Even if you’re a speaker in high demand, you cannot deny the allure of passive income through online sales and the leverage it can create. When you’ve built a career around one skill set, it’s tough to jump into the online info-product world of click funnels, squeeze pages, lead scoring, etc. It can be easy to somewhat devalue your own skill as a speaker and view online marketers as the ones that “have the special sauce”. "Hey now! Consider this. You’ve made a great living doing the thing that terrifies people most – public speaking." Hey now! Consider this. You’ve made a great living doing the thing that terrifies people most – public speaking. Being able to communicate that way is an incredible asset, and you should be proud of what you do. You don’t have to start from scratch to become the online growth hacker you want to be. Instead, drive online sales by doubling down on live events! Change your strategy from just speaking fees to using each audience as the top of a much bigger marketing funnel. ConveYour helps speakers leverage their authority and connect more effectively with their audiences, with great results. If you’re interested in learning about how to start selling to your tribe online, schedule a demo with us and we’ll walk you through exactly what you need to do.